Hawk Mountain canoe trip to the sea a success

Hawk Mountain Land and Facilities Director Todd Bauman on the very cold… (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO )

December 23, 2010|By Kathy Lauer-Williams, OF THE MORNING CALL

It was cold and windy, and, at one point he was stopped by suspicious security guards, but Todd Bauman, Hawk Mountain director of land and facilities, calls his Mountain to Sea canoe journey to raise funds for Hawk Mountain a complete success.

The 250-mile trip connecting three rivers to the ocean, ended Dec. 15 in Cape May with Bauman surpassing his goal of raising $10,000 for educational programs at the Berks County sanctuary.

"It went very well," says Bauman, who kept track of his progress on a blog — "especially in awareness of Hawk Mountain."

"We are incredibly proud of his trip," says Mary Linkevich, Hawk Mountain communications manager. "We had thousands of hits on the blogs and he raised $11,000. What more could we ask for?"

Bauman left on the trip Dec. 1 from the Little Schuylkill River by Hawk Mountain in a driving rain.

"It definitely offered challenges," Bauman says. "It was quite a storm the day I left. I think we had three inches of rain."

Bauman says he didn't mind the cold but the high winds he encountered posed a real problem.

"High winds are not a good thing for paddling a canoe on a large body of water," he says. "I ended up paddling at night when the atmosphere and water were calmer."

He also had a brief scare when he was detained by several security guards while canoeing past the Limerick Nuclear Plant on the Schuylkill River.

The bad weather didn't overshadow the many helpful people Bauman met along the way.

"The best part was the connection with the community and folks in the watershed," Bauman says. "I was surprised how excited people were when they found out what I was doing and how they got involved. People opened up their homes to me."

Another high point was seeing the wildlife that live along the rivers.

"I had been paddling for 3 1/2 hours by myself when I saw a large flock of snow geese fly overhead," he says. "That was pretty magical."

In the end, the weather also kept Bauman from reaching his goal destination. Winds of 30 miles per hour forced him to end his journey eight miles short of Cape May Point on a beach in north Cape May.

Bauman says he is eager to return to some of the areas he paddled. He promises his next trip will be even bigger.

Bauman's blog can be seen and donations can still be made at http://www.hawkmountain.org.